Call Off the Wedding
by Keynn
Summary: Everything's all wrong. Drew is in engaged, but not in love, and May is in love, but not engaged. If holidays are truly about bring people closer together, perhaps there's a little hope for these two yet. - Contestshipping
1. A Wedding on the Way

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon!**

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Call Off the Wedding

_Contestshipping_

Drew found May the night before his wedding, completely without warning and entirely by accident. He supposed, had the encounter not occurred, he would be contently married by now, and not wholly displeased with his life. It was the resolution of never seeing her again, after all, that had cleared up any unsettlement about settling.

It was May who'd left, in the end, and so Drew couldn't simply halt the forward progression of his life ... even if he'd wanted to. Which, for a very long time, he'd wanted to. And for a longer time, he'd attempted to.

Melody had come at him like an annoying beedrill, persistent and insistent upon one date, which she'd eventually received, and she had been around ever since. Drew liked her a lot, too. Enough to marry her. She was the kind of girl men dreamed about, chatty and pleasant and not overly clingy. She had perfectly straight teeth and a pleasant voice and her family were a well-to-do group of people from LaRousse, not unlike Drew's. She had good connections and Drew could have been good friends with her easily if she hadn't wanted to be more. Melody would be the perfect wife, the kind who never wanted conflict and followed his every wish, and ultimately, Drew knew, he never wanted that kind of relationship. With May things were always fiery, a conflict brimmed in every conversation to be smothered by gazes and mutual agreements. Fights with May were always about something more than the thing which was the subject of the argument – they were about her safety or his arrogance or their next move. They promised protection and security, and sometimes they were there simply for the passion of the moment and they were fun ... and with May, they were sexy. In his heart, Drew knew that if May ever surfaced again, he'd break it off with Melody immediately, even just for a shot at a repaired and shoddy relationship with May.

And so he had.

The night before his wedding, as Drew walked through the streets of Goldenrod City, just passed the Grand Hotel which was to be his place of matrimony, he saw May and her Blaziken, arms occupied by shopping bags, walking down the opposite street. She was just as he'd remembered her, if not a little older, a little more beautiful. It was such a perfect escape route for her, to the Johto region. He hadn't been back here since he'd stopped looking for her almost five years ago, but then, she'd loved Johto so much when they'd traveled here together, so of course she would come back eventually.

He followed her down the street, until she stopped at another department store – a big skyscraper, brimming with festive fairy lights. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say or how he was going to say it, but he walked up to her in a daze and with a flustered confidence he'd stopped feeling since pokemon contests. Blaziken noticed him first, and when May turned around from her examination of the department floor plan Drew's breath caught in his throat and he swore this was as happy as he'd ever been in his life.

"May," He said, by way of greeting, smirking. She looked shocked, startled and flustered, her cheeks red from the cold wind and from embarrassment and because they'd always seemed to hold a certain red tint to them, even when they were kids, and then the most gorgeous grin broke across her face and she looked as though she might hug him if she weren't holding shopping bags. "How have you been?" He asked. A minute passed in silence as the saw each other – almost for the first time. It had been so long. Finally:

"Good," May said, looking around. Her smile softened and she walked forward, something in her gait told him she meant for him to walk along side her, so he took a bag from her hand and put his other in his pant pocket as they began to wander the snowy streets, "I've been … really good," she said, and when he couldn't think of anything to say she grinned at him and added, "I just finished up a contest the other day, and my next one isn't until the Grand Festival, so I've decided to take a vacation."

"Then you're still in the contest game?" Drew smirked, giving her a sidelong glance, she looked confident with her shoulder back and her rosy nose lifted skyward. Determination he realized. Determination and pride, so very much like May. She nodded, a smile on her lips.

"I just couldn't give it up. After you quit," she looked at him then, that was the reason after all. The reason they'd broken up and the reason they'd lost contact. Drew had wanted to settle down, find a permanent place and May couldn't do it. Wouldn't do it, and she'd left. It had been the absolute worst day of his life, "after you quit, I tried to give it up, to see if I could do it, but contests were all I knew, and my break only lasted until the end of that season..." They arrived at a small bar, bustling with the holiday crowd and cheer, and found a table on the patio for sit-down customers, where May looked Drew squarely in the eyes and then said, "but I've grown past that now." And she grinned.

"Past what?"

"Being afraid to quit. I love contests, but I've accomplished everything I wanted to, so this is my last Grand Festival. I think I'm going to buy a place here in Goldenrod. That's kind of why I'm here, a friend of Ash's said she'd be happy to help me look for a little house on the outskirts." She grinned big and goofy and her eyes were on fire. Drew starred in awe and he could see the future, settled with her, here, and he could see their pokemon ... and maybe their children. It was everything he'd always wanted, there in that picture. And in an instant it had shattered completely, because as she looked down to hide her growing blush, she stole a glance at his hands, folded on top of the table, and the silver band around his finger glistened in a taunting way. May looked mortified, and covered her mouth with her hands.

"I'm so sorry-" she gasped, her eyes wide. "Er, no- I mean, congratulations Drew! I just ... I didn't know, that's ... great ..." Her words trailed off and she stood up. Blaziken, who'd been sitting up against the wall stood as well, grabbing the bags around her feet. "I should go," she laughed nervously "I promise I wasn't ... flirting or anything. I just kind of ... assumed you were still ..."

"Wait May-" Drew stood, too, holding his hand out as if to grasp her, but she was already halfway down the road, her boots clicking on the cobblestone as the sound drifted out of ear shot. Drew fell heavily into his chair, groaning, as the future and his fantasy chased May deeper into the city.

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_How long has it been since I've written contestshipping?_

_I'm putting their ages at about 26-29, I'm hoping that explains the out of character-ness, but I'm also hoping I'll be able to make it more in-character as the story progresses. :P This'll have two more chapters, so keep an eye out, and if you're liking it so far, don't hesitate to leave a review (I love those darned things!)_


	2. Call off the Wedding

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!**

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"I never knew Melody was so violent." Drew whispered to Roserade, rubbing his cheek, the fresh red marks imprinted there stung in the chilled air of the hallway. Roserade shook her head in a manner that Drew knew to mean it was clear this was his fault. Possibly she was right, "but it's _May,_" emphasized Drew, reaching for the bags Melody had thrown out of the room, as well as the pretty diamond ring which lay, sparkling, against the far wall. "Wouldn't it be worse if I'd married her, knowing that May was still out there?" Roserade crossed her arms and strutted off, knowing he was right but unhappy all the same. Drew didn't blame her, not really, what he'd done to Melody deserved to have him kicked in the head.

An hour later found the duo sitting outside a deli, Drew had his cellphone pressed between his shoulder and his ear, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he nodded subconsciously. Roserade sat in the seat opposite him, fiddling with Drew's PokeNav. It was almost two in the morning, hours after Drew's encounter with May, and frustrated as he was, Drew found he was hungry. Briefly, he thought of May and her eating habits, lack of manners, and bottomless stomach. It brought a smirk to his face which only vanished when the man on the other end of the phone began talking again. "You're the wedding planner – if we call off the wedding you're supposed to make sure it actually gets called off," Drew said, re-grabbing the phone. His hand went up to flick the stray bangs from his forehead and stopped just after he'd done so. It was so natural, the whole movement, but he hadn't done it in years. Not since meeting Melody.

"Yes Mr. Hayden, but Ms. Melody insists the wedding is not canceled. I just received a call from her, not five minutes ago!" The flustered wedding planner sounded throughly harassed.

"I can assure you it's not happening. There's been some complication ... look, I'll talk to Melody, but no wedding." The conversation ended abruptly as Drew flipped the phone closed. He dropped it beside his plate and ran a hand through his hair. Roserade snickered across the table from him. "Shut it," he glared, she pushed the PokeNav across the table to him, May's NavNumber illuminated the tiny screen, along with an out-of-date picture of her from their teenage years, he hadn't changed it since then. He'd always been a fan of the picture he currently used. She was mid-yell, it had always suited her, as much as May had demanded he change it. Drew pressed the close button and stashed the device in his pants pocket, earning a returned glare from Roserade as he did so. "I'll talk to her later," he said calmly, by way of explanation, and then smirked, "when I'm not trying to cancel a wedding."

The ringing of Drew's cellphone cut through their stare-off and Drew glanced down to see the number. Melody's name, accompanied by text-symbol hearts flashed cheerily. Those hearts had been her own doing. Melody had a habit of taking Drew's phone and altering it when she could. She also had a habit of randomly calling his friends and acquaintances, although it had never been a big deal when she'd done so. Melody had always been skeptical, but Drew was very much the gentleman and most of his friends were in relationships of their own, so when Melody periodically checked in with his friends, or the one time she grilled Solidad after she'd seen that he and she had had an almost two hour phone conversation, Drew tended to turn a blind eye and let it be. Favoring peace rather than a fight. Melody didn't argue often, and she was definitely adverse to having playful banter. When she was angry, she tended to get _very_ angry and resorted to icy glares when large issues arose between she and Drew. It was a taxing process Drew took no pleasure in. He sighed.

"Melody?" He answered.

_"You can't just call off the wedding! We've been together for four years! Four years Drew!" _She screamed, he could tell she wasn't crying, she hadn't cried when she kicked him out either. Part of him was slightly annoyed by this fact.

"Look Melody, I don't love you. Doesn't that bother you? It bothers me."

_"Of course it bothers me, but there's more to our relationship than just love," _Drew raised an eyebrow, even if she couldn't see him, because the whole statement sounded ridiculous.

"...Isn't that the entire point of a relationship." He laminated.

_"Sure, for people who don't have more going for them than us. We're both very attractive people, notable in the world, we have rich families. This is a good thing for both of us, better than just being in love. That'll come later, you've said it before: I'm perfect wife material!" _

It occurred to Drew then, as he listened to her speak, that he and Melody probably wouldn't have even been good friends. Her colors were shining through, and they were not pretty colors at all.

"Out of respect for the last four years Melody, I don't want to hurt you more than I need to ... but I can't marry you."

For a moment that phone line was silent and Drew thought maybe she'd hung up on him. Then, in the iciest voice he'd ever heard in his life she began:

_"You have always been the most aloof, least affectionate, overly pretentious asshole, and I put up with it because marrying you would have been very beneficial not just for me, but for you too, it would be like rubbing salt into the open wound of the earth and all those admirers you used to have when you did that stupid contest stuff, but you couldn't even give up pokemon for me, even knowing how much I don't like them. You couldn't give up anything for me at all, and now you're just walking away. I gave you four years of my life. Do you understand how much I could have accomplished in four years!?" _

"I know," said Drew, "and I'm sorry, but I have to go." He hung up the phone, sitting in silence for several moment he and Roserade watched each other. Finally he asked, giving her the most serious look he could muster: "am I really an overly pretentious asshole?"

By way of answer Roserade smirked, tossing her hands about in a prancing, mocking manner. Drew chuckled, pushing himself away from the table. He stood, dropping the bill and cash on the table.

"Forget I even asked" He walked away, feeling very light and happy. Tomorrow, he would find May, he would explain the situation and they would go from there. These happy thoughts, as well as Roserade, followed him to the Pokecenter, where he stood for several minutes, gazing at the cheerful sign.

"... I haven't stayed in one of these since I was a coordinator," he muttered allowed, Roserade nodded behind him, her arms crossed over her chest, looking at the building with some contained excitement of her own. She didn't wait for Drew to collect himself, she danced around his legs and slid through the open doors, approaching the counter before he even noticed she was gone. He glided in after her, flicking his fringe back.

"Good evening morning!" Nurse Joy greeted, walking out from behind the employee-only door.

"Room for one," Drew smirked.

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_Next chapter will be entierly dedicated to Drew/May fluff. Prepare accordingly. ;)_


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